Sunday Nights

A bunch of bored, capable people with plenty of time on their hands -- a recipe for TOTAL CHAOS.

Episode 6: Visitation

9

MAR/14

Some time before the opening scene, Baxter has committed acts of research and found a name to pin on the wrath entity encountered in Episode 5. He is in the Theta database as Shax.

A woman in a black feathered cloak sweeps into Kate’s. IV recognizes her at the entity she encountered at the end of Episode 4 and had dubbed “Hecate”. El Toro quietly clears the bar of civilians. She requests a return of ‘her’ cow hides and expresses her displeasure that our heroes had chosen not to re-curse the former bovines. She feels very strongly that once punishment has been laid down, it is not to be averted. Some bickering ensues about whether our heroes had done wrong, given their limited information, and regarding what right this entity has to swoop in an criticize. Only Mad Stan meets her approval, and she tells him to call her Mistress. When finally presses to provide credentials, she runs out of patience and snaps Kate’s wards in order to walk the hides out more or less under their own power. She leaves, etched in the table, a list of her names (long, though surely not comprehensive) as a calling card. Hecate is among them, as are Hela, Morrigan, Louhi, Isis, and Coatlicue.

Kate and IV take some time to repair the Haven wards.

Baxter shortly hears that Hecate has sprung Polyphemus from custody, presumably to be chastised for his dereliction of duty. When news comes in or some sort of raid or breakout from the facility holding the ex-bovines, it seems as if this is the next step. This impression is broken when the table shows new text, “Did you take my prisoners?” IV writes back in beer, “We thought it was you.” This results in “I see. Carry on.” and silence.

The results in some debate. On the one hand, the ex-bovines should never have been anyone’s problem but Polyphemus’. On the other hand, it’s probably not a good idea to let Hecate get any more annoyed, given her likely choice of targets to vent her annoyance. The group piles into Stan’s Van and the station wagon and find their way to upstate, where the mental facility is located. The ex-bovines appeared to have some sort of fit of hysteria and ran out into the forest and seem to be heading towards Canada. Stan interfaces with the police to track these activities.

In the woods behind the institution, there are various tracks, mostly left by the ex-bovines, but also including a set that seems to belong to a large stag. IV attempts to cast a divination and somewhat overcasts, landing herself in a vision of being chased by a pack of dogs and ultimately facing the pack and their leader, who looks her straight in the eyes and suggests that she give him a good chase. IV is able to pinpoint the likely location of their target(s), but uncharacteristically asks to go home instead of charging forward. The rest of the group, considering that a rather ominous sign, choose to return to Kate’s and check in with the Mistress.

Kate asks via table-gram what the ex-bovine’s crime was, and is told, “disturbing the peace”. IV reports her encounter with what she presumes is the Wild Hunt and the Mistress decides to drop back in. She figures that if she wants to catch the Horned Man and the hunt, all she has to do is watch their next target and take them down at her convenience.